Bob Poe, a candidate for Florida's 10th congressional districtin Orlando, was an investor in U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson's controversial hedge fund, which opponents say contradicts his pitch that he is a progressivepolitical outsider.

Poe said he invested $100,000 in the Grayson Fund in late 2012, before pulling his money out in early 2015, after the fund under-performed his expectations.

He distanced himself from language contained in the fund's marketing materials, which said the Grayson Fund would "capitalize on markets in turmoil due to economic, political or natural disasters."

"I never saw anything like that, and that was never how it was positioned to me," Poe said. "… In a fund like this, you really don't know and don't have any input on what the fund is investing in."

Two of Poe's Democratic opponents, Val Demings and state Sen. Geraldine Thompson, said his investment in the Grayson Fund raises questions about a candidate who has poured more than $1 millionof his own money into his campaign.

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"He made his money a major part of this race and, because of that, I do think voters have a right to know the details" of Poe's involvement with the Grayson Fund, said Demings, a former Orlando police chief.

Thompson argued the investment and Poe's big-spending campaign belie the argument that as a progressive Poe would be a champion of working people.

"I think, with those kind of resources, that he very well would have a difficult time really understanding the lives of the folks in Congressional District 10," she said.

Poe argues his wealth allows him to run a campaign without indebting himself to special interests, the Democratic party or powerful donors, something he says his opponents cannot promise.

As he campaigns for a U.S. Senate seat, Grayson, D-Orlando, has been embroiled in a monthslong ethics investigation into the Grayson Fund, seeking to determine whether he used his position in Congress to solicit investors.

In April, the House Office of Congressional Ethics released a report stating there was "substantial reason to believe" Grayson broke federal law and ethics rules in connection with the fund.

Grayson denies any wrongdoing, describing the investigation as frivolous and maintaining that the fund's investors were friends and family, not outsiders wooed to join by his congressional credentials.

According to the House report, the fund in which Poe invested, Grayson Fund, LP, was based in Delaware, but it was linked to the Cayman Islands-based Grayson Master Fund LP.

In February, the New York Times reported that a marketing document for the hedge fund cited a quotation advising that "the time to buy is when there's blood in the streets."

"I think voters should be very concerned about that," Demings said. "Especially [from] a candidate who is painting themselves as the, quote, progressive."

Poe is competing in a crowded Democratic field for District 10, which redistricting shifted from Republican-leaning to Democrat-heavy. Voters will choose among Poe, Demings, Thompson and attorney Fatima Rita Fahmy on Aug. 30.

Asked about Poe's investment, Fahmy said only that she considers Grayson a "man of integrity and a man of his word."

Grayson said the "markets in turmoil" language did not reflect "the nature of the investments that were actually made" with Poe's money, though he did not specify how Poe's money was invested.

He said questioning Poe's principles because of the investment is "ridiculous."